


Talking Too Much

by simpleapricot



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleapricot/pseuds/simpleapricot
Summary: Akko is concerned that Diana isn't telling her anything. Diana is worried that she talks too much.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 10
Kudos: 148





	Talking Too Much

“Whatcha reading?”

“Nothing of particular interest.” Diana gestured to the textbook in Akko’s hands, which certainly seemed far less fun than the lavishly illustrated scroll in front of her.

She had been like this a lot recently, dodging questions. When they studied together, Akko never knew what Diana was reading. When they ate together, Akko never knew if Diana liked the food.

Never mind, Diana loved magic. Maybe she would talk about that!

“Is it about magic? What kind? Is it healing magic?”

“It’s really not worth talking about. How are your studies going?”

“They’re fine, I guess.”

Diana was a quiet person.

It didn’t seem like it at first. When she spoke, a hush always fell over the room, only to be punctuated by shouts of praise from her teachers and fellow students. Even when she didn’t say a single word, a practiced hair flip or comment from her roommates could bring fawning admiration.

Akko only really noticed when they started spending more time together. She wanted nothing more than to talk about Diana. She wanted to tell her friends, her parents, her grandparents, and the person sitting next to her on the plane, but she had nothing to say.

That needed to change.

“Are you certain that you’re ready for tomorrow’s exam?”

Maybe change could start tomorrow.

* * *

“I failed my exaaaaaam!” Akko dramatically dropped her head onto the cafeteria table.

“What happened this time?”

“I forgot the pronunciation of the healing spell.”

“So?”

“It exploded.”

“At least it wasn’t in our room.”

“Your ‘experiments’ blow up too! Anyway, how did your test go, Diana?”

“My exam went as expected. I am much more concerned for your safety. You could have gotten hurt! Are you sure you’re not injured?”

“Yeah, but that’s not—”

“Stop worrying so much. Akko blows something up at least once a week. She’ll be fine!”

“Can I please talk—

“ _Akko_ will be fine, will the rest of us?”

“If Akko and I could possibly continue our—”

“Hm!” Constanze fiddled with Stanbot, and it pulled up a chart showing just how many times Akko had caused “combustive events” in the past year. It was a lot.

“I wanted to talk to Diana!”

* * *

Diana’s eyes scanned over the crowd gathered at Luna Nova’s gates. Sure enough, Akko was nowhere to be found. Diana was still getting used to the girl’s _generous_ approach to being on-time. She fiddled with the little beat-up book in her pocket as Professor Finnelan began her well-worn speech for the students going into town, one thought crowding everything else out in her mind.

What if we have nothing to talk about together?

“Hi Diana!” The voice was cheerful and far too loud. Diana only stole a glimpse of Akko’s wide smile before it was quickly dispelled by a stern glare from Professor Finnelan. Diana returned a small grin before turning back to Finnelan with furrowed brows.

“…please hand in your amulets now. They will be returned when you arrive back at Luna Nova.” Diana placed the nearly tattered book into the basket, smiling as Akko slipped a Chariot card on top of it. The two set off together for the Leyline Terminal.

“What was that book you had?”

“Oh, that was just an old textbook of mine.”

“You love a _textbook?_ ” Diana couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, not exactly…”

“What is it?”

“My first potions book. It is not all that interesting.”

“So…why a potions book? Are you Sucy in disguise?” She reached for her wand and scanned Diana for signs of Sucy-ness.

“Akko! Stop. I am _not_ Sucy.” Akko eyed her suspiciously. “Fine. When I was still learning magic, I was able to do quite well in most of my subjects with diligent study. But potions always eluded me. It never made _sense_. There was no logic to it, I simply had to practice over and over again until I memorized the process for one potion, and then I had to start anew for the next one. It was infuriating. I read my potions book until the spine fell apart. Now, when I see it…” She looked to the side and found Akko staring at her, mouth slightly open.

Crap. Diana was rambling.

“In…in any case, it seems that we’re here.” The Leyline Terminal loomed before them. “Want a ride?”

“Don’t need one!” Akko beamed, brandishing her battered broom.

“Together, then?”

“You bet!”

* * *

“ _Bang!_ ”

Another explosion rattled the freshly repaired windows of the lab. Akko was making little progress with the potion, but she was getting better at dodging the consequences. Her uniform wasn’t even singed this time!

…Maybe she _did_ cause too many “combustive events.”

Akko flipped back through the small book. She was _sure_ she had dog-eared the page with this one on it, but so many pages were folded that it didn’t really help.

“Oh, Akko, I wasn’t aware that you used this room.”

“Diana!” Akko spun around, very nearly knocking the cauldron over. “What’re you doing here?”

“Professor Luka requested that I assist her in testing some new ingredient combinations for treating magic-inhibiting diseases. I should ask you the same question, seeing as you decided not to study potions this semester.”

“Nothing…”

“Akko.”

“What?”

“ _Akko._ ”

“OK, fine. A little while ago, you said that you loved your potions book. I didn’t really understand, so I got one!” She presented the little book she had been reading.

“I am…not sure I understand. Why?”

“I wanted to figure out why you care about it so much.”

“Why I—”

“You didn’t want to tell me, so I’m finding out myself!” Akko reached for a handful of ingredients and moved to hurl them into the cauldron, only to feel her hand stopped by Diana.

“Don’t. You’ll cause another…”

“Combustive event?”

Diana _laughed_. It was a gentle, quiet thing. A covered mouth and a quickened breath. Akko might even have heard her snort. But she laughed, for longer than she had in quite some time.

“Yes, another _combustive event_. Here, let me show you.”

She was a good teacher. The instructions that had bedeviled Akko now seemed crystal clear. She guided Akko’s hands through the difficult parts, and for those moments the two worked together as one. Akko was even able to ignore the way her pulse quickened as they touched. Near the end, Diana started to venture off-topic, her sentences punctuated by the addition of another ingredient or stirring the cauldron.

“I told you that potions were especially frustrating to me. Do you know why I kept going? Chariot’s magic, becoming the head of my family, those were all important. However, potions in particular were different, because I was sure there must be some way to understand it, but I could not. I tried for so long to discover the logic behind it. The little glimpses I saw were intoxicating. That was when I realized that I do not just love magic, I also love to _study_ magic.”

She took a vial and tipped its contents into the cauldron. The mixture turned the color of burnished silver, and it gave off a cloud that shone like diamond dust. Akko could have sworn Diana’s eyes were shimmering.

“Even so, it doesn’t hurt when it’s beautiful too.”

* * *

“Whatcha reading?”

“You should be studying…” Diana caught sight of the snow outside their window, glittering as it tumbled down to the ground below. She smiled. “…but I suppose I can give a brief overview.”

The grin never left her face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
